Good mood helps older people make better decisions

Washington, Jan 31 (ANI): Putting up a happy face can improve decision-making and working memory among older adults, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that easy mood-boosters-like giving people a small bag of candy-helped seniors do significantly better on tests of decision-making and working memory.

This is the first study to show the power of positive moods in helping older people with these brain tasks.

"There has been lots of research showing that younger adults are more creative and cognitively flexible when they are in a good mood. But because of the cognitive declines that come with aging, we weren't sure that a good mood would be able to help older adults," Ellen Peters, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at Ohio State University said.

"So these results are good news. There are ways for older adults to overcome some of the cognitive declines that come with aging," Peters added.

The study involved 46 adults aged 63 to 85. Half of them were put into a good mood by receiving a thank-you card and two small bags of candy, tied with a red ribbon, when they arrived at the lab for the experiment. The other "neutral mood" participants did not receive a card or candy.

The participants completed the study on a computer. Those who were induced into the positive mood had a background screen that was designed to help keep them feeling positive-it featured smiling suns on a sky-blue background. The neutral-mood participants had a similar background, but with neutral round images with no face.

In the decision-making task, the participants were given 3 dollars in quarters and presented with eight virtual decks of cards over the course of experiment.

Each of the decks had a different pattern on its back so that participants could identify them.

Four of the decks were "gain" decks, meaning that the participants won a quarter 75 percent of the time if they chose a card from that deck, while the other 25 percent they did not win or lose.

The other four decks were "loss" decks, meaning they lost a quarter 75 percent of the time that they chose a card from the deck.

Participants could choose to accept or reject the top card of each deck that was offered to them. They were told the goal of the experiment was to win as much money as possible.

The researchers wanted to see how quickly and accurately the participants would learn which decks generally won them money, and which decks lost them money.

The findings were clear: older adults who were put into a good mood chose significantly better than those who were in the neutral mood.

The study is published in the journal Cognition and Emotion. (ANI)

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